88 Liaa Limestones of' India. 



there observed, occasionally within a few yards of the basset 

 edges of the inclined sandstone strata. 



Outcroppings of a similar formation of older sandstones may 

 also be traced in the ranges which bound Harvistee to the north ; 

 and here a narrow belt of these rocks would seem to be inter- 

 posed between the newer series and the strata of the primitive 

 district, which branches off from Ajmeer east towards Bhurt- 

 poor. Similar appearances have been described as presenting 

 themselves elsewhere ; but, as surface rocks, the old red sand- 

 stones have a limited range, as contrasted vvith the other surface 

 formations of this portion of India ; though, perhaps, we may 

 be entitled to conclude, from their occasional protrusion in situa- 

 tions so remote from each other, that there exists a great inter- 

 nal formation of rocks of this class. li iBiJrisM 



The limestones which we are in the habit of describing as sy- 

 nonymous with the lias limestones of England over-lie the sand- 

 stones, and are aiTanged in horizontal, or nearly horizontal strata, 

 which are separated from each other by loose calcareo-argillaceous 

 partings. In tlieir texture they are compact ; they are characte- 

 rized by their large conchoidal fracture. Their prevailing colour 

 is bluish-grey, sometimes they are reddish, more frequently yel- 

 lowish. They are very generally covered with beautiful den- 

 dritical delineations, and some varieties might be substituted for 

 the Gotham marbles in ornamental architecture. They are ar- 

 gillaceous limestones, and may be raised in slabs of any size and 

 breadth. They are remarkably free from veins, or fissures of any 

 kind ; the more compact varieties have been employed with suc- 

 cess in lithographic operations, and as building stones they are 

 invaluable. 



The organic remains of these hmestones are obscure and in- 

 distinct. This may perhaps be attributed to the compactness 

 of the rock ; at least, the best marked specimens are only disco- 

 vered on the weathered surfaces of blocks which have long been 

 exposed. They are rarely if ever found in the freshly quarried 

 slabs. Protruding from the surface of the strata into the calca- 

 reo-argillaceous partings, are frequently observed numerous lo- 

 bated and polymorphous bodies, apparently of an organic ori- 

 gin. Captain Franklin states (see his Geology of Bundelkhund, 

 inTransactionsof Phil. Class, Asiatic Society), that lie discovered 



